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Old 05-22-2015, 12:11 PM
 
892 posts, read 1,588,758 times
Reputation: 648

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Quote:
Originally Posted by JasonF View Post
Sounds like the OP is already committed to this. There's not really much to say at this point. The commute is going to be a hellish nightmare that routinely blows up into hour+ long insanity, but if the school is really that important, we're not going to convince the OP to reconsider.

The fact is lots of people make similar commutes every day. They give up hours of their lives every week to live where they want. The OP will just be another one of those people. I'm not entirely unsympathetic to their way of thinking. I choose to commute from Portland (west of the river) to Hillsboro because the thought of living in the suburbs makes me want to gouge my eyes out. Some days it's maddening but I do it anyway.
I agree, the OP is going to do what the OP is going to do. I wish they had asked about the commute before settling on Sellwood and found a school closer to work. It's not like there is only one Catholic school in the City, much less metropolitan area.

I live in SE and used to work in Beaverton (close to 26 and Beaverton-Hillsdale). I hated when I had to actually get on 217 at pretty much any time of day. The commute wasn't horrid when I started but it got worse every year. I'm so glad to now be working on the same side of the river. I didn't realize how much unneeded stress and time and costs it added. I rarely cross the Willamette now and even more rarely cross over the West Hills.
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Old 05-22-2015, 09:12 PM
 
Location: Tucson, AZ
1,588 posts, read 2,523,333 times
Reputation: 4188
I know I am getting sick of it. I left Vancouver at 3:30PM From Rosa Parks. When I got home I noticed my garage door was opened and I freaked out.. then I realized it was 4:30PM my kids were home. I though the commute had taken 40 minutes but it was an 1h and 2 min. Actually, that's pretty good for a Friday. I think people played hookie. 4 day weekend! I don't know what's worse, that I was happy it took me an 1r and 2mins to go 15.6 miles or that I have become such a zombie crawling along I don't pay attention, track the time or even remember it anymore.

My wife and I were talking and we realize that Portland freeways are exactly the same as they were when we first started driving... 23 years ago. 23 years ago Portland had 375,000 and the metro area about 1 million. Now we have 620ish and 2.5 million metro, with the same roads we had 23 years ago. Seattle is in the same boat.

Best of luck OP.
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Old 05-23-2015, 10:48 AM
 
Location: Portland, OR
609 posts, read 805,580 times
Reputation: 775
Quote:
Originally Posted by urbanlife78 View Post
That is the thing with the Portland metro, the area isn't designed in mind for people doing a cross metro commute. It is designed best for those that live near to where they work which in turn makes for shorter commutes.
It was designed 50 years ago and never updated. it wasn't "designed" for anything other than 1975.
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Old 05-23-2015, 11:49 AM
 
Location: Portland, Oregon
46,001 posts, read 35,097,852 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by eric351982 View Post
It was designed 50 years ago and never updated. it wasn't "designed" for anything other than 1975.
Sort of true, but the river and hillside that runs through the city was designed long before that which makes any commuting from east to west in the metro more difficult.
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Old 05-24-2015, 12:06 AM
 
19 posts, read 18,780 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by SETabor View Post
I agree, the OP is going to do what the OP is going to do. I wish they had asked about the commute before settling on Sellwood and found a school closer to work. It's not like there is only one Catholic school in the City, much less metropolitan area.

I live in SE and used to work in Beaverton (close to 26 and Beaverton-Hillsdale). I hated when I had to actually get on 217 at pretty much any time of day. The commute wasn't horrid when I started but it got worse every year. I'm so glad to now be working on the same side of the river. I didn't realize how much unneeded stress and time and costs it added. I rarely cross the Willamette now and even more rarely cross over the West Hills.
Hello.....it's not that I'm set in my ways it's more like I found a school on our list that has space for us, all others were full, that limits our options. So once again, we're not set on any neighborhood, but our childs school is a priority so that changes things. The school is in the Sellwood area but we will have a chance to go explore before we actually move. BTW it's official now so celebrate one more CA transplant.....
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Old 05-24-2015, 12:52 AM
 
3,928 posts, read 4,891,847 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by elle2124 View Post
Hello.....it's not that I'm set in my ways it's more like I found a school on our list that has space for us, all others were full, that limits our options. So once again, we're not set on any neighborhood, but our childs school is a priority so that changes things. The school is in the Sellwood area but we will have a chance to go explore before we actually move. BTW it's official now so celebrate one more CA transplant.....
The inner quadrants of Portland has so many CA transplants that nobody really cares that you are from CA. The Portland Forum has more overt CA prejudice because nobody is face to face online. I haven't experienced any real prejudice from Oregonians in five and half years in Portland. Treat people well and don't constantly compare everything to CA and you will be fine.
.
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Old 05-26-2015, 11:22 AM
 
2,430 posts, read 6,616,634 times
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And as an FYI, not being rude, saying you're used to traffic so you don't mind is probably the best way to make yourself disliked in Portland. So many people come here and say they're used to an hour traffic so they don't mind a long commute and with traffic having gotten so bad here in the last few years it's like nails on a chalkboard. Don't add to the traffic and don't expect it to be anything like your So. CA commute--as you'll read on here our commute issues are based on geographic constraints and it's very different than a crowded So CA freeway commute. It's not about the distance or the time it's logistics and the commute could take 30 min or 90 based on the day.

And I agree--Sellwood to Beaverton would be a nightmare! Don't do it! Sellwood itself is great though but as others have said, a bit out of the way. On the other hand, MAX is opening up close by so if your husband is willing to do his commute by Max (which would require changing trains and probably take a good hour) that might be do-able. But living on the westside would be the smartest thing to do. What school in Sellwood? There are a lot of great schools on the west side...
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Old 05-27-2015, 10:54 AM
 
Location: Colorado Springs
63 posts, read 100,595 times
Reputation: 46
I'm hearing about how bad the west side is, traffic wise. I was wondering, what about the Eastside? What would it be like to commute to downtown Portland from Gresham? I realized that it's far away, but I wonder are you having the same gridlock issues living in the east and commuting downtown.
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Old 05-27-2015, 11:16 AM
 
892 posts, read 1,588,758 times
Reputation: 648
Gresham to downtown is likely better than Beaverton to downtown but the traffic isn't great. It's more standard traffic though, too many cars on too few freeway lanes.
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Old 05-27-2015, 11:25 AM
 
4,059 posts, read 5,601,995 times
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The congestion on I-84 is generally lighter once you get east of the river [compared to 26], but stop-and-go does happen.

The main trade-off is that the distance is roughly twice as far, give or take depending where precisely in Beaverton/Gresham you were comparing.

So from downtown Beaverton the issue is that a drive that should take 15 minutes in the absence of traffic will regularly flare to 45 or longer. From downtown Gresham a drive that should take 25 minutes will flare to 35 and occasionally longer.

The main reason more people don't opt for that is that the schools in Northeast/Gresham aren't well regarded, plus concerns about crime, etc., some of which are real and some of which are overblown
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